


rinharuweek DAY 8 - Eternal (Crossover AU - Suisei no Gargantia - like the oceans that connect us)

by yakutatazuaho



Series: yakutatazuaho's rinharuweek entries (nov2014) [5]
Category: Free!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Future, Crossover, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-29
Updated: 2014-11-29
Packaged: 2018-02-27 10:23:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2689319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yakutatazuaho/pseuds/yakutatazuaho
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A bit of a one sided confession from Rin and some sort of a promise. And Haru who doesn’t react to the word “mackerel”.</p>
            </blockquote>





	rinharuweek DAY 8 - Eternal (Crossover AU - Suisei no Gargantia - like the oceans that connect us)

Haruka woke up feeling sluggish and stiff. He was sitting in his pilot seat in his Machine Caliber.  
He patted his screen browsing for information about his location and machine status, remembering that he'd just been fighting Hideauze in space.  
Makoto, his A.I. Robot Partner told him he'd been cast away on a distant planet, there was no way to return to their space artificial planet and there was no way to contact them, so they'd have to find out more about this planet. He found out it was actually the legendary planet called "Earth" from where humanity originated, and that the land once covering its surface had been engulfed by the oceans.

He came in contact with the human population on Earth that had captured his machine and in an attempt to communicate, he'd kidnapped the first person he met, a red haired dark skinned boy who was speaking another language because he was chased. He came to know that humans were now living on ships, taking whatever they needed to survive from the oceans. That boy, who he found out was called Rin, was the one who linked him with the humans on Terra, who tried to understand him and who was there to show him around and help him get accustomed.  
He has been living on earth for a while now, and was starting to know more about everything.

Rin was a special presence to Haruka, and what he liked most was his wholehearted smile that made him feel at ease. What he liked the best was to see him flying with his glider, when he seemed to be so free, so unbound and in tune with the wind.

This is how he came to meet him on one of the branch ships where he'd been working on the fish harvest day. They were passing by a colony and the harvest was expected to be gigantic, so Rin invited Haruka to the party organized for this day. He came wearing a different outfit, still revealing his tanned legs while Haruka was as pale as ever, and grabbed his arm leading him to the place where the party was held. Haruka let himself be guided while listening attentively to what the red head was telling him enthusiastically, trying to catch some words and reading the translation sent by his A.I. on his screen after analyzing the language.

"You're definitely going to have fun! I'll show you what dishes you need to try! Do you want to try mackerel?"

"I don't really understand the importance of taste." Haruka answered in a bland voice.

"That's so boring! You have to try out more things, see more things, eat more and do what you want! You'll see how fun life can be!" Rin added, hugging the shorter boy's arm more tightly and getting his face closer. Haruka was unaffected by the closeness as he didn't know anything about human contact and relationships at all, other than the biology stuff, and if Rin was trying to flirt, he wouldn't take the hint anyway. But he felt relaxed and he loved Rin's company.

The party was both boring and interesting. Haruka didn't have anything to do during the chaotic chattering and the serving of dishes, wasn't interested in the girls trying to talk to him and just sat and ate what Rin recommended and listened to him speak, watched him talk with the others. He liked watching people and understanding them better, little by little.

The ship wasn't advancing; they had stopped sailing until the evening, and many people were swimming above the underwater platforms. Rin also went there, dragging Haruka alone and diving in the water, moving his body as he was floating. Haru was fascinated by water; he never had the chance to see something like it in space and of course, he couldn't swim. When Rin beckoned him closer, he dipped his feet into the water, and Rin came closer and dragged him in. The water was shallow so there was no problem that he couldn't breathe.

"Come on, Haru, I'll show you how to swim."

"Do you think I can?" he asked curiously.

"Of course you can! But you need practice!" he continued. "Let's have you kick the water for now. Take my hands and lie on your stomach on the water."

The teaching session was actually interesting, and fun. Haruka didn't read the translations and tried to understand Rin just from listening, and he found himself in a different perspective. Without watching the world through his A.I, everything seemed more colorful and unpredictable. Rin's laugh was the color he saw spread around the whole area, and although he didn't understand what he was saying, he felt close to him just knowing that that soft voice was calling out to him.  
They splashed each other, stumbled, laughed and played around with everyone there, until the blue sky was turning purple and the party ended.

Rin and Haruka didn't split up right there, but stayed together longer. Rin casually held the black haired boy's hand while they were walking, and Haru didn't quite understand why he did it or why he looked away when Haru looked at him to give him a questioning look. He didn't mind it though, so he gripped his hand back, and he thought he saw a small smile on Rin's face when he did that.

They reached the deck of the ship and Rin stopped close to the edge to stare at the ocean, endless no matter how far they sailed. The night breeze was warm and the stars made the ocean water glitter as it was rippling under the ship's weight.

"Haru, did you have fun today?"

Haruka didn't understand the meaning of the question, but tried to answer sincerely:  
"Yeah, I did".

Rin showed a faint smile that Haruka thought was a bit unlike his usual smile, as he continued:  
"Is your planet more fun than here?"

The shorter boy didn't need to think about it and said: "There's no "fun" over there. You're either useful or you're not."

Haruka wondered if he gave a wrong answer, because Rin's eyebrows curved upwards in a slightly sad expression. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to do and wanted to say something when Rin bit his lip then looked away and downwards, still holding his hand.

"Are you planning...to go back?"

"I'm a soldier. I'll go if they come get me. Right now I don't have the means to go back by myself."  
He thought he saw Rin's expression light up a bit, immediately after, time he looked discontented and irritated, and bent his head lower. He gripped Haru's hand tighter and said, still looking down: "Is it unfair of me...to wish that they won't come for you?"

"Why would you want that?" came Haruka's unsuspecting response. Rin jerked his head upwards and looked him in the eyes with a frown, a pout and blushing.

"What's wrong, are you not feeling well?" Haruka asked when he saw his red face and raised his other hand to touch his cheek. Rin twitched and his eyes widened while the red of his face deepened.

"You know...I like you..." he said touching Haruka's hand on his cheek while trying to keep his eyes locked with Haru's although he almost wanted to run away. "...I wish we could stay together forever." He knew Haruka wouldn't get what he means and that was also why he was able to confess in the first place, but he was still happy when he answered: "I also like being with you, Rin."  
Whether it was a lie or anything - although he knew he was sincere - Rin's heart trembled just hearing those words in Haruka's voice. This gave him a bit of courage to do what he had been planning for the whole day, and he took the hand touching his cheek and dragged it down, then searched in his pocket and took something out. He then unlocked their other hands and grabbed Haru' left hand and slid a ring on his ring finger. He didn't know how to feel cheating Haru like this as he was sure he didn't know the meaning, but continued by wearing a similar ring himself.

"This...this means...I mean...on Earth...if you wear matching rings with someone on this finger, it means they're very special to you." He made sure to emphasize the word "very" as he was trying to stop spinning his eyes in all directions and look at Haru again. "If you don't mind...I wish you'll wear it. No matter where you go or what you're doing...I wish-- I wish you'll remember me!" he ended with a frantic expression thrusting his head up to look Haru straight.

Haruka was a bit surprised but he found Rin like this to be sweet and he intertwined the fingers of their left hands lifting them between the two of them, and smiled softly when he said:  
"I got it. I'll keep it on." He bumped his forehead on Rin's and added: "You know I wouldn't ever be able to forget you, Rin. You'll be in my heart forever. Like this ocean that connects us now."

Rin felt like crying, and he made efforts to hold back while he only lifted his eyes to look at Haru.  
"Forever... I'll make do with that for now." - though it's still not enough, he wanted to say, but contented himself with wrapping his hands around Haruka's back and smiled against his neck when he put his hands on the small of his back.

**Author's Note:**

> I thought that maybe it’d have been better to make Haru the human from Earth because he’d like water and he’d like fish, but their characters fit better this way.


End file.
